The opening round of the 1984 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's soccer tournament comes to Cambridge today and the Harvard squad better be ready.

"You can't have an off day--you can't even afford to have an off 10 minutes," says Harvard's all-time leading scorer, senior Kelly Landry, of the post-season action that gets underway today across the country.

So even though the Cantabs are slight favorites over this afternoon's first-round opponent, the University of Vermont, they'll need a full 90-minute performance or else they'll be turning their attention towards next year.

The game is set for 1:30 p.m. on Ohiri Field. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for students with a Harvard ID.

This game will show the maturity that the season has given us," predicts freshman goalie Tracee Whitley.

Harvard wrapped up the regular season with a 2-1 victory over Yale Tuesday, finishing 13-2-1 overall and 4-1 in the Ivies.

Pretty impressive numbers, and good enough for NCAA officials to award the Cantabs the fifth seed in the national tournament.

The Catamounts (11-2-1) are ranked 12th, but battled the Crimson to a scoreless tie when the two squads last met on September 22.

"Vermont is tough, and they're capable of beating good teams," says Harvard Coach Bob Scalise.

UVM has proved it's at least capable of tying good teams, but today's contest could be a whole different story.

The Crimson had some scoring problems early in the year, and Vermont intensified this dilemma by double-teaming Landry.

But after winning 10 of its last 11 games, including seven by shutouts, Harvard has developed a confident, cohesive style of play.

"We're more used to each other now," says Whitley. "We've come together more as a team."

Which means that even if the Catamounts try that defensive ploy on Landry again, the Crimson will have alternate routes to the goal.

"We can use Kelly as a decoy and exploit our other scoring possibilities," explains Scalise. Freshman Karin Pinezich and junior Ann Baker have been potent on offense lately, and Vermont just doesn't have enough players to double-team everyone.